By Mark Edward Harris | Photography By Michael KennaS
ome photographers circulate their
work via magazines and newspa-
pers (although more and more those
entities exist solely online, as websites
and social media channels). Others,
who have chosen the world of com-
mercial photography, distribute their
images as ads, in marketing or brand-
ing campaigns, which range from tra-
ditional print to many diverse forms in
digital platforms.
But for the master landscape pho-
tographer Michael Kenna, who was
born in Lancashire, England, but now
is based in Seattle where he produces
ethereal photographs that often por-
tray hints of humanity in timeless nat-
ural landscapes, the path is a bit differ-
ent. Instead, Kenna shares his lyrical
work through fine-art exhibitions and
more than 20 books, including his
latest, Beyond Architecture (Prestel
Publishing), Oiseaux (Editions Xavier
Baral) and Rafu (Nazraeli Press).Digital Photo Pro: How did your
passion for the art and craft of
photography develop?
Michael Kenna: I don’t think there
was ever a decisive moment whenpassion and enlightenment about
photography suddenly enveloped me.
Rather, many factors, experiences and
decisions, great and small, brought me
to the life path I have been on for the
past 45 years.
I was born and brought up in what
might be described as a poor, working-
class family in Widnes, an industrial
town near Liverpool. Childhood expe-
riences obviously have a great influence
on one’s life, and as a boy, even though
I had five siblings, I was quite solitary,
content for the most part with making
up my own adventures and acting them
out in the local parks and streets.
I liked to wander to the local train sta-
tion and collect tickets and train num-
bers and would spend a lot of time on
my own in the nearby St. Bede’s Church,
soaking in the atmosphere.
Of course, I went on walking and
biking adventures with my siblings and
friends, too, explorations of empty fac-
tories, graveyards, ponds, sports fields,
bridges, all locations that I’d later find
interesting to photograph. Even though
I didn’t use a camera at the time,
I suspect this period was ultimately
more influential on my vision than theMichael Kenna
A master photographer shares how he creates
exquisite black-and-white landscapesThe Photographic Haikus Of
digitalphotopro.com January/February 2020 | 17